Spring Lies, Summer Changes
by Harmony Goldstar
Summary: What do you get when you combine Shawn Spencer and Cal Lightman? The result is 16 year old Chloe Rewalds. Chloe approaches Cal as a client and catches the interest of both Cal and Gillian while she is waiting for them to look over her video footage, and again when she lies flawlessly to her teacher in the lobby. Not a cross-over fic. Will be Callian.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here's yet another story... this one's gonna be longer, I promise! I know I mentioned Shawn Spencer in the summary, but this is not a cross over. That was just the most timely way I could think of to explain the story. Sorry to disappoint.**

"Okay, you guys know the plan. Let's do this," Chloe said as she and her three roommates headed out of their hotel room and down to breakfast. About an hour later, the girls were getting off their coach bus in DC. They ignored the teachers telling them when and where to meet up at lunch time and they ignored the warnings about getting lost. Jamie, Lauren, Ashley and Chloe rushed off to get on a city bus as soon as they were given free run of the city.

Three hours later, Jamie, Lauren and Ashley sprinted into the park, skidding to a stop in front of their teachers.

"You're late," Mr. Casey told them.

"Where's Chloe?" Mrs. Treshaw asked. "You were supposed to stick together."

"Chloe, she's... we were getting off a bus and we got separated. There were a lot of people rushing about, and she disappeared. We looked, but we didn't find her," Ashley explained breathlessly.

"How long ago was this?" Mr. Casey asked.

"We were on our way back here," Lauren said. "We tried calling her, texting her, and her phone goes straight to voicemail."

"Where were you when you got off the bus?" Mrs. Treshaw asked.

"No idea," Jamie replied.

"What do you mean, no idea? You're in an unfamiliar city, and you mean to tell me that you got off a bus with absolutely no idea where you were?" Mr. Casey exclaimed angrily.

"We were using the GPS on Chloe's phone so we wouldn't get lost. It told us to get off the bus there, so we did. We walked around for a few minutes and finally asked some lady to give us directions here," Lauren explained.

At 9:30 sharp, Chloe Rewalds walked through the front door of the Lightman Group office.

"I need to see Dr. Lightman," she told the secretary.

"I'm afraid Dr. Lightman is busy right now," she said. Chloe studied her face. She swept her gaze across the desk and saw the reflection of an email in the shiny surface of the wall behind the desk. Anna was the name the email was addressed to.

"You're lying. You don't know that, Anna," Chloe said.

"I work with Lightman; I'm not intimidated by that."

"And I'm not intimidated by lies. Which way is Lightman's office?"

"That way," Anna said, pointing to a door several yards down the hallway. Chloe marched down the hallway and shoved the door open.

"Your secretary says you're busy. I think that's a load of BS." She stepped into the room. There was the famous Cal Lightman, feet up on his desk, picking at a tuna sandwich and staring at his computer screen.

"What do you want?" he said, not looking up.

"You."

"Sure, love. I am ready, quite single, and available every night this week," he said, once again without looking up.

"Your help," Chloe revised, and looked around the room. Messy, window needs washing, two mugs on the desk, one with a lipstick stain. The reflection of his computer screen off the window revealed surveillance cameras of the office building.

"Watching porn?" Chloe asked.

"No," he said, looking up.

"Surveillance videos then." His face told her yes. "Of your partner's office. You're quite close to her," Chloe stated. He showed slight signs of embarrassment, and that again, she was correct.

"Alright, who are you and what do you want?" he asked, tossing his sandwich into the garbage across the room and pulling his feet off the table. "You're disgusted."

"No. I never said that." _Seriously though, who eats tuna at 9:30 in the morning?_

"That's right, you didn't, but your face did love. And there, what was that? Are you afraid of me?"

"No."

"That there, that's the truth. So what is it? What're you afraid of?"

"CAL. What are you doing?" The lady from the surveillance video scolded as she stepped into the room.

"Just my job, love." _He's looking at me. There it is again, he's thinking. That's what my father calls my mother and me. I'm not afraid of Lightman. And I'm definitely not afraid of my father. That's a lie and I know it. Worst of all, Lightman knows it too._

"Well, get control of yourself, or you won't have a job."

"Plan on firing me huh, love?"

"Hm..." she said.

"You're thinking about it?" Chloe asked, appalled.

"Not to worry, love. She can't fire her boss," Lightman said, flashing a smile.

The lady glared at him.

"I'm Gillian Foster, and this is Cal Lightman. What can we do for you?" she said, holding out a hand.

"I'm Chloe Rewalds," Chloe said, shaking Foster's hand. "I think my father is cheating on my mother. I need to know." Foster showed surprise, sadness and a little bit of something Chloe couldn't quite place, Lightman simply showed boredom, although he shared a quick glance with Foster that Chloe couldn't place.

"I have videos of my parents talking, arguing, you name it. I also have some of my father with who I'm certain is his girlfriend."

"What do you need us for then?" Cal asked, again looking at his partner.

"To know for sure. I have to. I can't just go up to him and ask if he's cheating."

"Sure you could. I did it to Zoe."

"Cal," Foster warned.

"No, no I can't. If I'm wrong, it'll break my mother's heart."

"And if you're right?" Foster asked.

"I don't know."

"Very well, Chloe, Cal and I will look over the videos. I'll show you to the break room, you can wait in there," Foster said, and Chloe followed her down the hall.

Foster left with Chloe's videos, and Chloe settled herself into a chair in the break room, and proceeded to begin a video chat with Lauren. She spent all morning video chatting, enjoying her exploration of DC through her phone. Just before lunch time, Chloe left the break room and ran across the street to get a sandwich. Once she had food and a drink, she brought her lunch back to eat. Walking into the break room, Chloe found Dr. Foster seated at a table with chocolate pudding and some paper work.

Walking by her, Chloe glanced at her hand and watched as she signed her name on the paper.

"You're divorced, recently, and you're happy about it," Chloe said.

Foster jumped, she hadn't heard Chloe come in.

"Happy might be stretching it," Foster replied, looking at Chloe.

"Fine, not happy, but not sad either. He cheated didn't he?"

"What? Yes. How did you….?"

"There's a slight tan line where your wedding ring was, you sign your last name somewhat more viciously than your first, and Dr. Lightman kept glancing at you, almost as if to make sure you were okay when I explained my problem," Chloe said, sitting down in a chair at the table next to Foster's.

"Well, Chloe, I need to be getting back to work. Dr. Lightman and I have almost finished going over your videos," Dr. Foster said, and she left the room with her papers and half finished chocolate pudding. As the break room was mostly glass, Chloe watched as Foster met Lightman in the hall, and stopped to talk to him. They both looked at Chloe, and then continued down the hall.

**A/N: Intrigued? Like, hate, want more? Let me know! & feel free to PM for an email address if you want to chat!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: While I'm traveling, I hope to write a few more chapters for this fic! I'll have plenty of time while actually traveling, but then I'll be super busy, and probably won't have a chance to post, but then there will be more travel time, so more chapters, and finally, sometime next week, lots of updates! **

Chloe got a text from Jamie that said 'Here goes.' Chloe hoped Lightman and Foster really were almost finished with her videos, and that her friends successfully convinced the teachers that she had disappeared.

"Well, looks like this bastard is cheating," Cal declared to the room as he watched the last segment of video. Gillian walked in having finished her pudding in her office, and was greeted by that.

"Come on, Gill, let's go tell the girl her dad's a no good…"

"Cal! Stop. Emily and Rick are meeting you for lunch, right?"

"Yes. If they aren't here in two minutes, she's getting grounded for life."

"Cal, I think we should send them into the break room to talk to Chloe."

Gillian pulled up the cameras in the break room on the computer screen, while Cal went to intercept his daughter.

"Emily, I need you to go talk to someone in the break room."

"Hi Dr. Lightman," Rick said nervously. Cal ignored him.

"What? Dad I thought you were having lunch with Rick and me."

"After this, love. Girl's in the break room. Her name's Chloe."

"What am I supposed to be talking to her about?"

"Chloe's waiting Em," Cal said, striding down the hall, back to Gillian and the computer screen.

Emily and Rick walked into the break room.

"Hi, Chloe? I'm Emily Lightman and this is Rick."

"Hi," Rick said.

"Hi," Chloe replied, looking Emily up and down. "You," Chloe said, "are not a virgin like daddy thinks you are."

"Alright, that's it; she can't come in here and accuse Emily..." Cal shouted.

"Cal," Gillian warned.

"That's okay, I'm not either," Chloe said.

"How did you… know?" Emily asked.

"Just a guess. The way your boyfriend is looking at you, the way you're standing so close together, the way you aren't at all bothered by his hand on your butt."

Dr. Lightman burst into the room, closely followed by Dr. Foster.

"Nice meeting you, Emily, Rick," Chloe said calmly.

"Emily, in my office, now," he snapped. She turned to leave, and Rick started to follow.

"Not you. Stay here," Cal commanded. Rick sat down at a table.

"Cal, don't do anything foolish," Dr. Foster told him.

Chloe sat watching this exchange out of the corner of her eye as she sent a desperate sounding text message to Ashley telling her that she was at a place called The Lightman Group and she was lost.

"Chloe, if you'll come with us," Dr. Foster said. She led the way out of the room, and Dr. Lightman followed Chloe, and she was certain that he was glaring at Rick until he was out of sight.

Once in the relative privacy of Dr. Foster's office, Foster spoke.

"Your suspicions appear to be correct. Your father shows all signs of cheaters."

"And that woman?"

"Does appear to be his girlfriend. I'm sorry Chloe," Foster said.

"It's okay. Now I have a reason to dislike him," Chloe said. "Thank you. Is two hundred dollars enough?"

"That'll be plenty," Dr. Lightman said irritably, snatching the money out of Chloe's hand as soon as she got it out of her bag.

"What the hell was that with my daughter?"

"Sorry sir. I forget that people aren't used to that," Chloe said, before walking out of the room leaving Foster and Lightman wondering what she meant.

Mrs. Treshaw rushed into the lobby of the Lightman Group office just as Chloe entered from the hallway.

"Chloe! We found you. Thank goodness. Are you alright?"

"Yes, Mrs. Treshaw, I'm fine. A little shaken up, but fine."

"What happened?"

"I got separated from my group when we got off a bus, and then a bunch of people rushed onto the bus and I got stuck in with them, and wound up here."

"Well, you're okay, that's what matters. Let's get you back with your group, eh?"

"Yeah," Chloe replied, turning back to wink at a security camera. She knew Lightman and Foster were watching her. Then she spun on her heel and followed her teacher out of the building. She looked back one last time, as she boarded the bus that would take them back to where they were supposed to have checked in at lunch, and wondered if she would ever see the building again.

Meanwhile, a confused Dr. Foster was watching the exchange between Chloe and the woman once again, wondering if she had missed something the first time. After all, it wasn't every day that happened. That, being the flawless lie that Chloe had just spun.

**A/N: Shall I be continuing this? Or no? What do you think so far?**


	3. Chapter 3: Chloe's POV

**A/N: Hopefully this chapter makes Chloe a bit more real. I switched to first person, her point of view, to get inside her head, hoping that it would make her more realistic. Any errors are the result of me talking into a dictation app, as I still can't type very much. Let me know and I'll fix them. Enjoy, & as always, please review!**

As soon as Mrs. Treshaw and I arrived at the park where my friends were waiting, I was interrogated about what happened. My friends wanted to know what I had found out.

"I don't want to talk about it guys." My friends had the common sense to leave the topic alone after that. I really didn't want to talk about it right now. It shouldn't have surprised me, because I was so sure of it when I went walked into The Lightman Group this morning, but having someone else tell me that my dad was cheating on my mom made it very real.

"Let's go," Laurel suggested, and we chose a direction and started walking, relying on my GPS to get us back to where we belonged.

"I can't believe it's time to go home tomorrow," Ashley said.

"And we go back to school on Monday. That means we just have the weekend to chill," Jamie added. This was where I was supposed to agree, and adding that school was such a hell, and I'd rather be shopping or driving around wasting gas and killing time. But I didn't, because the less time I had to spend at home pretending that nothing had changed, the better. At least at school, no one would notice.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering the city talking. I managed to put this morning's findings to the back of my mind and have a good time on our last day in DC. Tomorrow we would spend about 12 hours on a bus that would take us back to Vermont.

The teachers were pleased when we made it back to the meeting spot on time and with everyone from our group. The whole group of kids from our high school got on the bus and created quite the uproar on the way out of the city for dinner. I was starving, and hadn't had anything to eat since the sandwich at lunchtime.

When we finally got back to our hotel, Ashley called first shower, so the rest of us turned on the TV and started packing up our stuff.

The next morning, I woke up at about four and sighed, realizing that I wasn't going to get any more sleep. I sat on the balcony outside for a while thinking about the people I met yesterday. I wasn't ready to think about the information, but the people were fair game.

Dr. Lightman was an interesting character. I still can't believe he was eating tuna at nine in the morning. And then there was his little comment about being single and available. Okay, so maybe I set myself up for that one, but still. It was an interesting way to greet a client.

His daughter seemed very nice. I hope I didn't get her into too much trouble by outing her sexual relationship. I noticed it right away, and I have no idea why I said anything, but I did. Pity she's dating what's his name. And then Dr. Foster. She was pretty. Gorgeous even. Lightman is crazy not to sleep with her. After all, she clearly keeps him grounded, and probably does most of the business related work. She was very nice, and obviously smart and understanding. He doesn't quite deserve her.

I watched the sunrise, and then went to take a shower. When I finished, I wiped the steam from the mirror and a foggy face, green eyes, honey colored hair, and tanned skin looked back at me. My name is Chloe Marianne Rewalds, and I am 16 years old.

On the bus, I sat next to Lauren, and Jamie and Ashley sat in the seats in front of us. They chatted loudly and flirted with the boys across the aisle. Boys I had no interest in. I leaned against the window, put in my headphones and turned up the music. I don't know how long I spent staring at the latest edition of Seventeen magazine.

Several hours later, after a lunch stop, Jamie and Lauren switched seats.

"Chloe, are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"You don't seem like it. Anything I can do?"

"Not really. I was right." The 'don't tell anyone' didn't need to be said.

"I'm so sorry Chloe."

"Me too. Me too," I said.

Jamie and I sat in silence for few minutes, before she asked,

"So, tell me about Lightman." I told Jamie about the whole encounter, including the thing with Emily.

"You should've got her phone number, Chloe," Jamie said, "for when her dad tells the guy to get lost."

I laughed. Jamie was right. She's my best friend, and has been forever. She's the only one that knows all my secrets. She knows about the reading faces, and she knows about the observations. Jamie knows some stuff about me that would take me from the top of the popularity pyramid to below the bottom if it ever got out, but I trust her with my life.

It was early evening when we pulled into the school parking lot. I got off the bus, collected my stuff and found my mother.

"Where's Dad?" I asked.

"He's working. He said to tell you hello."

"Oh, okay." No, not okay, because he's not working, I thought.

I almost said something, but now was not the right time.

I said goodbye to my friends, and promised to chat sometime over the weekend. My mother and I carried my stuff over to the truck and tossed it into the bed. Hopefully nothing nasty has been in there since it was washed last. I couldn't help but grimace as I thought of some of the things that I could have just tossed my bag into.

I climbed up into the driver's seat and started the truck. What a picture, me in my spiky red high heels, climbing into a rusty animal sh*t covered pickup truck. The images didn't quite match up. Needless to say I was destined to move up in the world.

I drove down the highway, and then down some back roads, until I finally reached home.

"I'm glad you're back Chloe. We missed you," my mom said. I had almost forgotten that she was in the passenger seat. I didn't really know what to say, so I didn't reply. I didn't want to lie and say I missed it here, because really, I didn't. Sure, my life is here, but only until I graduate. There's only so much "cool" that you can have when both your parents drive trucks that should've been scrapped years ago. The closest mall is two hours away, and everyone in this town is either a town employee, a teacher or a farmer. I don't belong in a farm town, with my fancy heels and suits.

I'm the most popular kid in the school system, but that isn't quite what I want. I want to go somewhere and do something with my life. There is no future for me here.

When my dad got home, I immediately started in telling all about the trip to distract myself from what his body language was screaming. Annie and Noah, our two golden retrievers bounded into the house after my father, and shook dirty pond water all over the kitchen. That, I hadn't missed, but the dogs themselves, I had.

The next morning, I took Annie and Noah with me on a run. When I got back, I took my rabbit, Snowy, out of her cage and set her on my lap as I eat breakfast. My dad had brought Snowy home for me when I was thirteen and my beloved cat, Sammy, disappeared.

My parents both headed out before I had finished breakfast. They were going to get more hay today, they told me. I packed a lunch and saddled up my favorite horse, Bronzetail. I spent most of the day riding trails, stopping occasionally to think.

Perhaps I shouldn't have gone to The Lightman Group. Sure, the not knowing for absolute certain was driving me nuts, but this is worse. I know something that no one should. I'll have to tell my mom sometime, and that will probably be the hardest thing I will ever have to do.

Oh well. At least I know. I don't have to say anything now. I can wait, plan, and let everything blow up at my command, instead of in my face.

The woods grew darker, and I directed Bronzetail back toward the house. Maybe I don't hate it here as much as I say I do. It was nice being out in the woods. Quiet and peaceful.

Once I got near the house the quiet was shattered by the conveyor and the talking. My parents were unloading the hay trailer. My mom tosses the bales from the trailer to the conveyor, and my dad stacks them in the barn. I took care of Bronzetail, and then went inside to take a shower. There was a time when I would climb to the top of the trailer and tried to help unload. That was when I was little, when it didn't matter that afterward I had cuts all of my arms and legs. It matters now.

I showered, put on a light pink short sleeve top, a knee length black skirt and a pair of black heels before ordering a pizza. When I got back from picking it up, it was dark out, and the trailer was empty. Stars littered the sky, and a soft breeze ruffled the trees. I looked at the sky for minute before bringing the food into the house.

I was back in my element, being the most overdressed person in the room. That was what home was.


	4. Chapter 4: Chloe's POV

**A/N: Okay guys! I typed this one! Yay! It's also a lot longer than I thought it would be, so hopefully that kind of makes up for the huge time gap with no updates. As always, please review! **

**June:**

I got home from school one day, the week before finals. It was a Friday, I believe. My mother was busy, doing something in the garden. My father was out.

"Chloe," my mother called as soon as I got out of Jamie's car

"Bye Jay, I'll call you later," I said.

"Yeah Mom?" I yelled back.

"There's a letter for you on the table."

I made my way into the house with all my school stuff. Today was the last actual day of school. Next week we have four half days of finals, two tests each day.

I piled my backpack and binders on my bed, took off my shoes and dropped my jacket over a chair. Then I went back downstairs to find my mother standing in the kitchen.

"Well, open your letter," she said.

"Oh-kay…" I said uncertainly. Why would she care about my mail?

I picked it up and studied the envelope. To Miss Chloe Rewalds. The return address was none other than that of The Lightman Group. It didn't say so specifically, but I recognized it as the address I had typed into my GPS during the DC trip.

"Do you know who it's from?' my mother asked, at the same time that I said,

"Why didn't you tell me it was from DC?"

Neither one of us answered the other's question. I grabbed a steak knife out of the kitchen and slit the envelope open.

"CHLOE!" my mother scolded.

"What?"

"The letter opener is in the drawer next to the sink."

"Oh. Well, this was faster."

"Does it matter how fast you get it open? You don't even know who it's from."

"I think I might," I said, pulling the letter out of the envelope.

"Who?" my mother asked.

I opened the letter and didn't reply. I read the whole thing, and then read it again.

"It's from Dr. Foster," I said.

"Who?"

"Dr. Foster. I met her in DC." I handed my mother the letter.

"Chloe, this is wonderful. Do you want to go?"

"I think so, Mom."

"It would be good for you."

"I know Mom. They know things like I do. They would see right through me." I didn't add that that was probably why they offered me this opportunity.

"Show this to Dad when he gets home."

"Okay."

"I'm going to go finish turning over the garden, unless you need anything."

"Okay, I'm good," I said before taking the letter and retreating to my room.

My room looks quite out of place when compared with the rest of our house. The walls are white, and just about everything in my room is black or white. I have some accent colors, usually red, but it's mostly black and white and grey. My parents always joke that it's more of an office than a bedroom, and I laugh because that was my intent.

Our house is dark browns, greens and oranges. Fall colors. It looks nice for a farmhouse, but a farmhouse has no place in a big city full of nine to five office hours. That world is black and white. It's a nice change from all the color here, to just see black and white and grey.

I turned on the radio and put the letter on my desk. Then I began the long and boring process of reviewing for finals and sorting out which notes could be used as fire starters and which ones I needed to keep.

By the time my dad got home, I had only gone through two subjects.

My mother called me down for dinner, and I brought the letter down to show my father. No matter what he'd done, or what he was doing, he was still my father. And I did want to go. DC was a thousand miles higher than this farm town. It was on the map, and the capital of the nation. It didn't get much higher than that. No matter what my parents said, I was getting on a bus, or into a car and going to DC for the summer. I think on some level they knew that I was going to go no matter what, but I allowed them the illusion that the decision was up to them.

What's this Chloe?" my father asked when I handed him the letter. What was I supposed to say? That it was my way out of this hell hole, or a way to put myself on the map, far away from nameless farm towns in Vermont and cheating fathers? I don't think so.

"Dear Miss Chloe Rewalds," my father read. "On behalf of The Lightman Group, I would like to offer you a summer internship that would span from June 25th to August 31st of this year. During your visit with us, Dr. Lightman and I recognized you as a natural, and we would be delighted to work with you as you improve your abilities.

"If you should choose to accept, with permission from your parents, we will look forward to working with you. While it is not a paid position, the company will pay for your travel expenses and provide a place for you to live. Sincerely, Dr. Gillian Foster."

"I take it you want to go," my father said.

"Yes."

"How did you meet these people?"

"In DC, Dad. When I got lost, I went looking for directions and they helped me."

"What exactly is it they do, Chloe?" my mother asked.

"They're deception experts. They solve cases for the DC police and the FBI. They're people like me," I said, my voice trailing off at the last part. I didn't like to talk about how I differed from my parents and everyone around me.

When I was little and first started reading people and noticing things, my parents took me to doctor after doctor to find out what was wrong with me. When it was finally concluded that there was nothing "wrong" so to speak, my parents were out of hope and money, so they stopped looking for an answer. I may be different, but there is nothing "wrong" with me. This internship is an opportunity for me and my parents to find out why I am who I am, and what exactly it means to be what Dr. Foster referred to as a natural. Even if I didn't want to go, my parents would be practically begging me to, even if it was only to find an answer.

"DC is an awfully long way for you to travel by yourself. We won't be able to come and visit you," my father said. He meant that they wouldn't be able to afford it, and wouldn't have time in between working full time and farm work.

"I went on the school trip," I said.

"There were other kids. Where would you stay in the city?" my mother asked.

"They said…" I started.

"You'll probably live with one of them. Chloe, do you really want to live with a workaholic doctor all summer?"

"Dr. Lightman and Dr. Foster are really nice Mom."

"I see where this is going Chloe. You're just going to…"

"Get hurt. I know Mom. Just no, okay, just no. Don't even go there," I said.

"What about your friends?" my father asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"Video chat Dad. Besides, I can make new friends. Some of the employees have kids my age." They didn't have to ask how I knew this. And by some of the employees, I meant Dr. Lightman. But they didn't need to know that.

My parents were going to say I could go; I could see it on their faces.

"Chloe, it's going to be hard for us to let you go, but it wouldn't be right to deny you this opportunity," my father said.

"And we know you don't want anything to do with this town, with us. Go, Chloe. But before you accept, make sure it's what you really want to do."

"It is. I know it."

That was that. I would call Dr. Foster in the morning and accept the internship. How could I not?

Before I called Dr. Foster, I made sure my room was clean and that I looked the part I was playing. Sure, it was just a phone call, but it was a phone call that had the potential to change my entire life and give me the future I so desired.

I sat down at my desk and picked up my cell phone. I dialed the number at the bottom of the letter, and waited, aware that it was Saturday. Lightman seemed like the type who would have his employees working plenty of odd hours, and Dr. Foster was single, recently divorced, so a Saturday would be a great time to catch up on any work that piled up over the course of the week.

Minutes later I had accepted the internship and asked several questions. It was settled that I would fly to DC on Saturday, June 23rd, so that I could settle in over the weekend, and someone would be at the airport to pick me up. I was going to stay with Dr. Lightman because his daughter, Emily, is about my age.

Sometime later, I ended the call, and sat staring at nothing, smiling like an idiot. This was the best thing that had ever happened to me.

I was _flying_ to DC. Flying. No one I know has ever flown somewhere before.

I barely managed to quell my excitement through the weekend, although, the impending threat of finals helped. I had yet to mention anything to my friends; I hadn't even talked to them over the weekend. A logical reason for this would be that we should be studying, but that wasn't quite it. I almost said something at school on Monday, but everyone was so absorbed by finals that I didn't bother.

Monday night, I video called Jamie on my laptop.

"Hi Jay!"

"Hey Chloe, what's up?"

"Remember when I got lost in DC?" I asked, recalling the lie.

"Yeah."

"Well, they offered me a summer internship, The Lightman Group."

"Wow, Chloe that's really great! You're going right?"

"Yeah. I'm really going," I said, finally daring to believe it.

"Spill, details, now," Jamie demanded with a smirk.

"I leave the 23rd, and I'm staying with Dr. Lightman and Emily."

"His daughter?"

"Yeah."

"Bet she's single now," Jamie joked. I laughed.

"Sure. All thanks to me. She probably isn't happy about it." It was Jamie's turn to laugh. Then the tone turned serious, and I sighed.

"So, my mother definitely thinks something's up. She was hinting about an ulterior motive earlier. Something to do with Dr. Foster."

"And you have no idea why?"

"Of course not," I joked, bringing laughter back to the conversation.

"You have to tell her Chloe."

"What? About Dr. Foster? There's nothing to tell."

"You know what I mean."

"I know," I said quietly.

"So, do you have an ulterior motive?" Jamie jumped back in and asked.

"Maybe. Jay, it's DC. The most important city in the country. Do I need a reason to want out of here?"

"No. If DC is what you want, go for it. It was a great place to visit."

"Yeah, it was.

After that, Jamie's parents reminded her that she should be studying, so she ended the chat. I went to bed early, leaving my parents to finalize the last details of my internship with The Lightman Group over the next few days.

Thursday, after our last final, gossip flew about the cafeteria where we were waiting to be dismissed. Somehow, everyone found out that I was leaving for DC on Saturday. That was the topic of just about every conversation. Chloe Rewalds is going to DC for a summer internship. I ignored my classmates, and talked with Jamie, Lauren and Ashley.

"What are we going to do without you, Chloe?" Ashley asked. We laughed.

"So, when on Saturday do you leave?" Lauren asked.

"My plane leaves at noon, so I have to be at the airport by about ten, which means we have to leave here at about seven thirty."

The majority of the student body was clinging to our every word, but trying to make it look like they didn't care. When I let slip that I was _flying_ to DC, everyone started talking about it.

"Wait, Chloe, you're flying to DC?" Jay asked.

"Yeah. The Lightman Group pays for travel and a place for me to live. I guess DC folks don't get in the car and drive for twelve hours if they want to go somewhere," I said.

"Guess not," Ashley agreed.

"Are you scared?" Lauren asked. "I would be."

"A bit. I've never flown on an airplane before," I admitted. The truth was, I'd never even been in a car that went over 55 mph.

The bell rang, and everyone rushed toward the doors and freedom. We headed out to the parking lot to Jamie's car, and she drove to my house. Lauren, Jay and Ashley helped me pack some of my stuff and we enjoyed what would probably be our last face to face hangout time until school started in the fall.


	5. Chapter 5: Chloe's POV

**A/N: Sorry for the delay... I find myself working one job and about to start a second in a few weeks... and I'm fighting off a cold. But, on the bright side, I have enough content for several more chapters (even though it was all supposed to be in this one). Hope you enjoy, and please review! **

I spent all day on Friday packing. My father was at work, or so he said, and my mother had unsuccessfully tried to get the day off. That was okay with me; I didn't need them hanging around while I was packing. They might as well be working.

I put one of my favorite CDs in my laptop and listened to it for most of the day as I rolled up my clothes and put them in my luggage. I didn't take everything, just my fancy school clothes, the dress I wore for the school dances last year, some workout clothes and a few casual outfits. It felt like I was packing my life into those suitcases.

When I finally decided that I had enough clothes packed, I stopped for lunch even though it was a bit early. I tossed some tomato sauce onto the pasta that was left over from last night and ate that. Then it was back to the chore that was packing. I filled my jewelry roll with earrings and rings, and put my necklaces in one of my two purses. I tied a ribbon around all my bracelets and packed them too.

Then I put each pair of my high heels in a plastic bag so they wouldn't get scratched. I packed them, a few pair of flats and sandals and a pair each of sneakers and flip flops. I left out one full suit, complete with dress pants, a medium blue blouse, a jacket, a pair of black high heeled boots, a gold necklace, blue and gold dangly earrings, a gold ring and my watch.

There was barely any space left in my two suitcases, but I managed to squeeze in a few books that I've been wanting to read, and an empty notebook or two. I packed up a shipping box with CDs, pictures, my empty jewelry box, some pens and pencils and a few other things from my room. Once I had an address in DC my parents would ship it to me.

This is it. This is really almost it. I'm leaving tomorrow. I can't believe I'm finally saying that. I'm leaving tomorrow.

Most of my packing was finished by mid afternoon, so there was no distraction from the nervousness that I was beginning to feel. I was really scared to fly for the first time, by myself.

The only things I had left to pack are my toothbrush, hairbrush and some hair accessories, and I can do that tomorrow morning after I shower and get dressed. I went through my packing list once again, and realized I had neglected to pack my pajamas. I squeezed in two pair, and checked the list again.

Until my parents got home, I sat on my bed and stared at the wall trying not to cry. This is it. It's really going to be over. Tomorrow night this will all be gone. Everything I know will be gone and replaced by strangers in a strange city who will be able to see me exactly like I see them. No one has ever been able to do that before. I don't know what it'll be like. I was nervous about that too.

I didn't hear my father's truck drive in, and didn't notice until he knocked on my doorframe some time later.

"Chloe? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"Well, I ordered your favorite Chinese food for dinner. Mom's picking it up and she'll be home in ten minutes. I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

I closed the suitcase that was completely full and put it on the floor. Then I hung up and put away everything that I had pulled out and then decided not to pack. That done, I dragged my suitcase down the stairs and put it in the corner of the dining room. My mother opened the door just then, carrying a few bags of Chinese food cartons. She set the food down on the table and my father and I began opening cartons. I assumed my father had already taken care of all the animals.

A few minutes later, we sat down to have our last dinner together. Thankfully, they didn't spend the entire meal asking me questions, or if I had finished packing. We talked politics, actually. I hate politics. But it was a better dinner conversation than discussing my impending departure would have been. When dinner was over, we put the leftover takeout food in the refrigerator and put the dishes in the dishwasher.

"I left some stuff in the truck," my mother said.

"I'll go get it," my father offered. Once he was out the door, I started,

"There's something you need to know, Mom."

"What is it Chloe? Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure how to say this… never mind," I said, as my father returned from the truck. My mother wasn't going to drop it there, but I looked her in the eye and shook my head no. We both turned to look at my father as he said my name.

"Chloe, we have something for you," he said, pulling an expensive looking black bag from behind his back. My mother looked as surprised as I felt, so I knew she had nothing to do with this gift. My father was saying it was from both of them, but she hadn't been aware of it.

"We figured you would need a nice bag to carry paperwork and your laptop around in," he said. He handed it to me, and I opened it. Definitely expensive.

"Thanks. It's great," I said, and I really meant that. It was perfect. The perfect going away gift. I wondered why I hadn't seen it coming when I talked to him earlier.

My parents both followed me up to my room and Annie and Noah followed them. Now began the questioning.

As they asked and I answered, I watched them. I could read my mother clear as day. She wasn't hiding anything. That was why my father hadn't said anything to her about the gift. That had to be it. He knew I would see it coming.

My father on the other hand, I could not read, not at first. I looked more carefully, because he couldn't be under my radar. It wasn't possible. Looking closer, I could see that he was hiding something. That was when I realized that he wasn't under my radar at all, I had just stopped looking. I had become so used to secrets in his body language that they had become almost like a new baseline. I tuned back into the conversation and found silence.

"What?" I asked.

"I got your credit card yesterday. Do you want it now or tomorrow morning?"

"Now I guess," I said.

"Okay, I'll go get it. We put a thousand dollars on it for now. Hopefully that will last you for a while. We understand that you'll want to do some shopping or go out from time to time, so just call us if you ever need more money. We'll put it in for you."

"Okay, thanks," I said. My mother went downstairs to get the card.

I looked to my father, who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. He was obviously uncomfortable. His face told me that he knew what I knew. Suddenly the expensive gift made sense. He was trying to buy my silence before I left. _Play along_, I thought, and that was what I did. _Unspoken plea for my silence agreed to, Dad_.

My mother returned with the credit card and handed it to me.

"We'll leave you to finish any last minute packing," she said, and they both went downstairs. I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt and went to take a shower.

I moved my second suitcase and box of stuff off my bed and onto the floor, and I began to do my last minute packing. I charged my cell phone and put the charger in my suitcase. I put my laptop in the new bag and put the charger and mouse in my suitcase.

I emptied my purse and put its contents in my laptop bag, and I put the purse itself in my suitcase. I grabbed the new magazines I had received in the mail recently and put them in my computer bag too, to read on the plane. This was it. I'm really going to DC tomorrow morning.

I got into bed and tried for hours to fall asleep, and hours it took. I lay awake for most of the night, kept awake by nervous excitement. When I woke up at six, it felt like I had only slept for an hour or two, which was probably the case.

I got dressed in the outfit I had left out yesterday, leaving the shoes and jacket off for now. I put on the jewelry and a little bit of makeup and brushed my hair and coiled it up on top of my head, and then I brushed my teeth.

I put my hairbrush toothbrush, elastics, clips, barrettes, headbands and makeup in a plastic bag and put that in my suitcase. I took my suitcase downstairs and put it with the other one in the dining room.

My parents had already been up for hours doing chores, so I got my own breakfast. I poured a bowl of cereal and struggled to eat it all. I was that nervous. My parents came inside as I was finishing breakfast, and they went to change and get ready to leave. I gave my rabbit, Snowy, a goodbye carrot, and put on my mother's work boots to say goodbye to the horses. My father came outside with my suitcases as I was going back into the house.

I took off the muddy boots and went back up to my room to grab the last of my things. I made my bed and put the box of stuff on it so my parents would have no excuse to go through my stuff looking for it. I put my black boots on and picked up my blazer and computer bag.

Taking one last look around, I turned and walked away. I caught a glance of myself in the mirror as I walked down the hall to the stairs. I didn't even recognize myself. The girl in the mirror was an adult. She was going places in life. She was the future, and now she was me.


	6. Chapter 6: Chloe's POV

**A/N: I'm hoping to get some serious typing done on this story this weekend! I have several chapters written (thanks to boring staff meetings, mini training sessions that I have no real need or desire to pay attention in..) and hopefully some of those loose pages in my briefcase will be saved! **

**Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review! Your reviews quite literally make my day~**

In the kitchen, my mother was waiting with the camera. She took a few pictures of me and I handed her my phone. She took some pictures of me with that too, and handed it back. I gave the dogs a goodbye pat, and we got into the truck to drive to the airport.

Two hours later, my father pulled into a parking spot at the airport. He got my suitcases out of the bed and he and I each rolled one into the unfamiliar building.

I got my luggage on its way and my parents led the way to the line to go through security. Since there were still a few hours before the flight left, we found a place to sit. I knew I had to get in the security line early so I didn't miss the flight, but I also knew my parents didn't want me to leave just yet.

After a few minutes, my father went to buy coffee for him and my mother. This was it. My last chance.

"Mom. There's something you need to know," I said, turning to face her. I could see her mentally going back in time to the last time we had a conversation that started like this.

"It's not something like that again," I said. This time it's much worse. Unsure of how to gently break it to her, I blurted out,

"Dad's cheating on you."

My mother stared at me in shock. She didn't have to doubt my information and she knew it. My father came back with coffee and my mother tried to hide her pain and the tears that would fall. From who, I'm not sure. If it was from me, I could see right through it.

"Well, I should go," I said. I gave my mother a hug and whispered,

"I'm sorry." And I really was, but she had to know. My father hugged me and when he let go, I straightened my jacket and grabbed my bag.

"See you later," I said awkwardly, as if I was trying to get rid of them when they were dropping me off somewhere, and not leaving. I headed for the security line. Best to leave before my father finds out what I did. He's okay most of the time, but when he's angry about something, it's best if I stay out of the way. He won't hurt my mother, and this time I'll be miles up in the air, far out of reach.

Security was a pain. Once I was through, I had an hour to kill. Sitting in the waiting area by the gate to my flight, I watched the masses of business people rushing about. I was so very alone. This is it. I'm really leaving.

I got on the plane and found my seat. I pulled out a magazine, my cell phone and a pack of gum. I relocated the phone and gum into the pocket of my jacket, and began to flip through the magazine to pass the time. After a few minutes, I realized I might as well wait to read my magazines. I was too distracted by nervousness. I sat and stared out the window, hoping I had made the right decision.

When the plane started taxi-ing out, I unwrapped a piece of gum and put my concerns behind me. They belonged to what I was leaving here in Vermont. DC is not Vermont. I'm not a farm girl anymore and the crisis I am leaving behind gave me this opportunity. I passed on the information; my job is done. It's time to put it behind me now.

I looked from the window to the person seated beside me. A middle aged business man. My nerves must have showed a lot, because he turned and started talking to me.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"A bit. I've never flown before," I said. Surprise.

"Nothing to worry about really," he said.

"Where are you headed?" I asked.

"I'm on the way down south for business," he replied. "How about you?"

"I have an internship in DC this summer," I said. We talked a bit more, and I pulled out my phone and took some pictures of the clouds and the sky.

"We'll be flying over NYC in a few minutes I think," the man said.

"I've never been there; just driven through," I said.

"You'll know when we fly over." He was right. It was obvious when we flew over the city. I took some overhead photos of the city, and asked the man to take a picture of me with the skyline and clouds in the background. I could see that he thought it was kind of silly for me to take pictures of the flight, but I wanted something to prove that I'd done it. To someone who's probably flown for more years than I've been alive, it would seem foolish. But I've never even known anyone who's been on an airplane before. No one at home has ever been even close.

I settled in to reading my magazines, and a short time later, the plane landed. It was certainly better than driving for twelve hours to get somewhere. I was more than happy to be off the plane and back on the ground though. I followed the mass of people to the baggage claim. I waited a few minutes for the majority of them to clear out, and then began to look for my suitcases. When I found them both, I headed toward what I hoped was a lobby where I could find whoever was supposed to pick me up. I stood scanning the crowds for a while, and didn't see Dr. Foster of Dr. Lightman anywhere.

**A/N: Please review! **


	7. Chapter 7: Chloe's POV

**A/N: So this has been typed since my last update... and I forgot. How pathetic is that? I have several chapters all ready, and I just forgot...**

Almost fifteen minutes later, most of the people were gone. There were still quite a few, but not anywhere near as many as had occupied the area when I arrived. I was about to get out my phone and call, or go get something to eat even though I was still a bit too nervous to eat, when Emily Lightman rushed in wearing short shorts, flats and a tee-shirt.

I headed towards her and she greeted me.

"Hi! Chloe Rewalds?"

"That's me. We met before," I said.

"Yeah," she replied, recalling the unpleasant and strange memory. "Sorry I'm late. Dad and Gill were supposed to come, but they're working a high profile FBI case and aren't able to leave the office. Dad called me a half hour ago and told me to pick you up, so I came."

"No problem. I haven't been waiting long," I said, smiling.

Emily took one of my suitcases and we walked out of the airport.

"The car's on the top level of the airport parking garage," Emily said. "It's further away than I'd like… how was your flight?"

"It was okay. A little scary. I'd never flown before," I said.

"Really?" Emily asked. Obviously she'd flown a lot.

"Yeah." We walked in silence for a minute or so before Emily asked,

"So, do you want to go to the office or to our house first?"

"I don't really care. Whatever you want to do," I said. I really wanted to go to the office first, to meet my employers in a professional setting, and I could tell that Emily wanted to go in too, probably to snoop on the case.

"The office then?" she said as we reached the elevator for the parking garage. We had been walking for a little while, and my black suit was starting to get a bit warm.

"Is it always this hot here?" I asked.

"It gets hotter. In August it's almost unbearable to be outside," Emily said.

"Oh." It doesn't ever get that hot in Vermont. "How do you live with it?"

"We stay inside a lot. Go to the mall, or the movies, or swimming."

"I'd like to go swimming with you sometime," I said, smirking.

"Sure! It'd be super fun!" Emily said. She led the way to the car, a dark blue Prius.

"It's my dad's car," she said as she unlocked it and popped the trunk. "He refuses to buy me one of my own." Emily looked embarrassed by this. She must have no idea what I come from.

"I don't have a car either," I said, settling on keeping the details of my home life as hidden as possible.

"Finally, someone else my age who doesn't!"

"All your friends do?" Wow. She must have rich friends.

"Yeah."

"Well, we can be the no car club," I said. As soon as I said it, I was wishing I hadn't, because it sounded so stupid. To my relief, Emily burst out laughing.

"Let's do it," she said, getting into the driver's seat. I walked around and got into the passenger side. Emily plugged in The Lightman Group's address on the GPS and drove out of the parking garage. We both stayed silent until we were out of the traffic mess that surrounded the airport.

Emily looked over at me about three times in two minutes, and since I was watching her out of the corner of my eye, I caught every one of them.

"Something you wanted to ask," I said finally.

"Uhm, do you mind if I stop at the drugstore? I was on my way there when my dad called. I need some, uh…" Female products. Okay Emily, I get it.

"That's fine. I don't have any toothpaste or shampoo or anything. Stupid airplane laws." Emily stopped halfway through a laugh.

"They're not stupid," she said coldly. Her expression flashed pain and fear and sadness. And here was mistake number one in city life. I stopped talking even though I desperately wanted to know what caused Emily to show those emotions. I really wanted to know, partially so I wouldn't make the same mistake again, and partially because it was in my nature to wonder.

Emily parked the car at the drugstore, and we both got out. We went in together, but said nothing, and we went our separate ways inside the store. I spent $61.42 and found Emily waiting for me in the car. She said nothing and neither did I as I tossed my purchases in the back seat and got in the car. Emily drove for a few more minutes and then pulled into a parking space.

"Why were you afraid and hurt and sad when I said something about flying earlier," I asked.

"9/11," she snapped. "My dad was at the Pentagon that day."

"Oh," I said. Emily got out of the car and I did too, grabbing my computer bag.

"And don't you ever read me again," she snapped, slamming the car door on her words. She stalked down the street and into the building, and I struggled to keep up in my high heels. Mistake number two of city life, dissing airport security in front of someone who was directly affected by the reason for it.

When I opened the door to the lobby, Emily was long gone. I stepped up to the reception desk and introduced myself.

"I'll get Dr. Foster for you, follow me. I'm Heidi," she said. I followed her to Dr. Foster's office, which was empty, and then to what she told me was the lab.

"Dr. Foster," she called. Dr. Foster came out into the hallway, and Heidi returned to the front desk.

"Chloe Rewalds," I said, holding out my hand.

"Gillian Foster. Cal's just wrapping up the case, so we can go to my office," she said, shaking my hand. "How was your flight?"

"It was good. A bit scary though."

"We're very sorry we couldn't personally pick you up at the airport."

"It's okay. Emily told me about the case."

"Speaking of Em, where is she?" Dr. Foster asked.

"I don't know," I said. I know I displayed shame and I know she saw it, but she didn't say anything.

"We're almost done with the case. Then Cal and Emily will take you to their house, where you'll be staying." I must have looked nervous when she mentioned Emily, because she looked at me as if to ask what had happened between us. I didn't answer the unasked question.

"Okay," I said. I hoped Emily would forgive me for my slip; otherwise it was going to be a long summer.

I know Dr. Foster and Dr. Lightman must have some idea that I don't come from a high up place in the world, but I don't think they quite understand the giant step up that this city is. They know I come from a town in Vermont that no one has ever heard of, but they don't understand what it means. And if I have anything to say about the matter, they won't ever know the exact degree of desperation that I come from.

The laptop I have with me here in DC is the only computer we had. My parents bought it, used, so I could do my homework. My fancy clothes all come from consignment shops, were gifts or were bought using coupons and my own money. My cell phone was purchased with all the money my friends gave me for my birthday a year ago and the bill is barely paid each month. My parents barely have enough to take care of the animals, let alone themselves, and certainly not me. Not someone like me.

Lightman and Foster don't understand my home, and I guess I don't understand theirs. I didn't think stepping up to something would be all that hard. After all, it's just manners, fake appearances, skirting around problems and always looking perfect. But apparently it's more than that. There are things that no one talks about that everyone is supposed to know. Things I don't understand. How could I? Nobody ever told me.

**A/N: Please review! **


	8. Chapter 8: Chloe's POV

**A/N: Here's another chapter! Please review! **

"Dr. Foster?" I asked. "Can I ask a somewhat odd question?"

"Of course," she replied, setting down her pen and giving me her attention.

"What exactly happened on 9/11? I mean, I know what happened, but I don't really understand."

Dr. Foster showed the same emotions as Emily—fear and pain and sadness. Then it all slipped away, leaving her face blank. Her eyes held me with a haunted gaze.

"I'm not sure how to explain it to you right now. It's a difficult thing for me to talk about. Cal and I worked at the Pentagon then, and my husband worked for the DOD."

"Oh," I said, still not understanding. She wanted to help, she really did.

When it happened I was too young to understand, and since then, no one has explained.

"There are lots of documentaries about it. I can find one for you if you'd like," she offered.

"Yes please," I said, looking down at my hands. She knew this question was related to my previous reactions to her mention of Emily. I saw the confusion on her face.

Then Dr. Lightman barged into the office before either of us could say anything else.

"All done love," he announced.

"Cal, this is Chloe Rewalds, Chloe, Cal Lightman," Dr. Foster said.

"Hello," I said.

"Foster here says you're something special," he said. "Are you?"

"Maybe. But you don't think so. You think you're better than me, and everyone here. Except perhaps her," I said, pointing to Dr. Foster. She spoke, effectively stopping what was sure to become an awkward situation as my habits forced me to explain why I saw this.

"Cal, stop. I'm sure Chloe would like to go settle in." And it was him who she told to stop. He wasn't the kind of man to stop because he was told too, but he did.

"Well, come on then Chloe," he said, walking quickly out of the office.

"Oh and Foster?"

"Yes?"

"Dinner's at six."

Foster didn't reply, but she didn't have to. He knew she would come. Emily appeared as Dr. Lightman reached the door. Emily rushed ahead to open the passenger seat door and Dr. Lightman said,

"Chloe gets shotgun, Em."

"But Dad…" she said, shooting me a glare.

"No." I got into the front seat. We got out of the city, to a more remote area. It was starting to look more familiar to me. More like home. As much as the outskirts of DC could possibly look like a nothing town anyway. Dr. Lightman pulled into the driveway of a large, old, beautiful home. I immediately noted the address.

"Wow," I said. "You live here?"

"Yep," Emily said proudly. The house looked bigger than some of the barns back home. It was probably bigger than my house and barn put together. I pulled out my phone and took a picture, and Emily handed me the bags of stuff I bought at the drugstore. Dr. Lightman got my suitcases out of the trunk and took them into the house. Emily led me through the living room and up the stairs.

"This is your room," she said, opening the door. I followed her in.

"Wow. This is great," I said. Dr. Lightman brought my suitcases up.

"The bathroom is across the hall, my room is the first door in the hall and Dad's is at the end," Emily said.

"Dinner's at six. Let us know if you need anything," Dr. Lightman said, and he went back downstairs. Emily turned to leave.

"Emily?" I said. She turned around in the door way.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." She just looked at me. "For what I said earlier. I guess I don't understand," I said.

"It's okay. Everyone here has lived with the change. It's become our lives. I didn't really think about that maybe some people don't understand."

"I was too young."

"Me too. But they showed us a video in school. They tried to make us understand. I was more upset that you read me than anything else. So I'm sorry too."

"Friends?"

"Yeah. There are towels and washcloths in the closet in the bathroom, and I'll get you the password to the internet," Emily said.

"Okay, thanks."

I set my bags down on the bed and lifted one of my suitcases up to start unpacking. It was a little after three. I figured I could do most of my unpacking before dinner.

I pulled shoes out of plastic bags and organized them on the floor in the closet. I unrolled my few casual outfits, pajamas and workout clothes and put them in the dresser. I took out socks, underwear, bras and nylons out and organized them in another drawer.

I put my books and notebooks on the night table, and took my jewelry roll, purse and fancy dance dress out of the bottom of my suitcase. I hung the dress up in the closet and left my jewelry and purse on the bed, and moved on to hanging up the skirts and pants that I had managed to fit in my first suitcase.

That was one suitcase done. I put it in the closet and pulled the second one up on my bed. I was surprised to notice that it was almost 4:15.

There was a knock on the doorframe, and Emily said,

"Hi Chloe!"

"Hi," I said, turning to face her.

"Here's the Wi-Fi password." She handed me a pink sticky note. "And I emptied the right hand drawer in the bathroom and made some space on the counter so you can put your stuff there. How's the unpacking coming?"

"Slowly. I'm about half done."

"Want company?"

"Sure," I said. Emily entered the room and plopped down on my bed.


	9. Chapter 9: Chloe's POV

**A/N: Here's another chapter... the last one that I have written. Hopefully I'll have some free time during work, this weekend, or there will be useless staff meetings next week... :) Please review! **

"_How's the unpacking coming?"_

"_Slowly. I'm about half done."_

"_Want company?"_

"_Sure," I said. Emily entered the room and plopped down on my bed._

"Cool books. Mind if I borrow them when you're done? They sound interesting," Emily said after reading the back covers.

"Sure!" I pulled my computer charger, mouse, phone charger and plastic bag of toiletries out of my suitcase.

"So, what sorts of things do you like to do?" Emily asked.

"I go shopping and hang out with my friends a lot. We're in the choir at school. I run and go horseback riding, and I like to read," I said. "How about you?"

"I like shopping too! My friends and I love to hang out at the pool, or better yet, the beach, and I always drag Dad to the amusement park at least once a summer."

"Cool! Sounds fun!" I said. I was sure it was… the beach and amusement parks sounded like fun places to go, even though I had never been to either.

"Yeah. There are a bunch of parties planned this summer too. I love parties and fashion, and animals."

"Do you have any pets?" I asked.

"No, unfortunately. You?"

"A bunny named Snowy, two dogs, Annie and Noah, and my favorite horse, Bronzetail." None of which we can really afford.

"That's really cool. I wish Dad would let me get a dog, but he doesn't want to have to take care of it while I'm at my mom's, and she's allergic."

"That sucks," I said, because it really did. But frankly, I would trade all my pets for relative financial security and an end to the fear and hurt and desperation at home.

Emily was trying so hard to sound like someone. I could see that this friendship, or whatever it would turn out to be, was important to her.

I hung up my shirts while we were talking, and I managed to unpack my suitcase completely by 5:45. Because since Emily started talking to me, it started to take a lot longer.

"So, what should I wear for dinner?" I asked Emily.

"Nothing too fancy," she said.

"Oh, so not this?" I joked, gesturing to my outfit.

"Lose the heels and the jacket, and change into jeans," Emily said.

"Will do, fashion expert," I said. Emily smiled.

"So, what do you want to do tomorrow?" she asked. "We could drive around DC or go shopping or we could just stay here and chill."

"Hm… well. How about we drive around for a while, give your dad a break, and then chill."

"Sounds great," Emily said. "We can watch TV or something, and go sightseeing and shopping some other weekend."

"Definitely." TV. Wow. She would have cable too, so I might finally be able to watch the shows I like. When I watch TV it's usually on my computer at a friend's house, because we don't even have an internet connection. When the conditions are right, I can get onto the neighbors network, but there's never any guarantee to that.

"I'll be in my room while you change. Come on in when you're done," Emily said, and she left.

I quickly made the suggested adjustments to my outfit and knocked on the door to Emily's room. She came right out and we went downstairs.

Emily knew I was her age, but she acted almost like I was older. She made suggestions hoping for approval, like all kids do.

We walked into the kitchen to the picture of Dr. Lightman leaning against the counter with a dishtowel in one hand, a ridiculous flowery apron on, and one arm wrapped around Dr. Foster's waist. Emily opened her mouth to announce our presence, and I tapped her shoulder and mouthed 'picture.' She got the hint, and pulled out her phone, snapping a picture of the pair, who were still oblivious to our presence.

"Oi, Dad, Gill, I live here too," Emily said loudly, causing Dr. Foster to step out of Dr. Lightman's reach and blush.

"Sorry Em. We were talking about work. Boring details about payroll." Emily didn't believe that and I could see it wasn't true. I could see the attraction between Dr. Lightman and Dr. Foster, and that neither of them would admit it to each other. They were afraid of what they might lose.

"This'll make great blackmail," Emily muttered. I laughed.

"Send it to me, yeah?"

"Here, put in your email," she said, handing me her phone.

"Dinner is served, ladies," Dr. Lightman announced, and we followed him into the dining room. After dinner Dr. Foster told me that she'd found a documentary.

"Did you want me to watch it with you?" she asked. I could see that she didn't really want to revisit that day, but I didn't really want to watch it by myself.

"Yes, please, if it's not too much trouble."

"You can come over to my place and we can watch it some time when Emily's at her mom's," she said. I guess she doesn't like Emily's mom.

"Okay." I got that Emily's parents were divorced most likely from fighting, not because of cheating. I wondered what my parents would do.

Dr. Foster left, and Emily went upstairs to go on Facebook. I put the last of my things away and turned on my computer. I typed in the Wi-Fi address and password, and logged into my Facebook. As I surfed my newsfeed, I called my parents. They didn't answer the phone; they were probably out in the barn doing chores.

I left a message saying I was safely in DC, that I was getting a tour of the city tomorrow, and I left them the Lightman's address so they could send me my box of stuff. Then I ended the call and hoped that they didn't call back. I didn't want to hear my mother's pain and my father's anger. I didn't need that fear, even though my father's wrath couldn't reach me here.

I updated my Facebook status to: DC, and smiled when my current location at the bottom of the post showed up as Washington DC. A notification popped up and I saw that it was a friend request from Emily Lightman. I clicked accept, and checked my email. I saved the goofy picture of my employers, and returned to Facebook, where Jay, Ashley, Lauren, Emily and several of my other friends had liked my status.

I updated some key information on my profile, now that it sounded somewhat interesting. Current city: Washington DC. Hometown: Canterville, VT. Job: Intern at The Lightman Group. Relationship status: Single. I uploaded the pictures I had taken today on my phone to my computer, and created the album, Travel.

Then, even though it was early, I was tired, and I went to bed. Travel was tiring.

**A/N: Canterville is a fictional town in Vermont, in the middle of no where, about two hours from Burlington. Think tiny town that is almost all farmers, most of them financially unstable.**


	10. Chapter 10: Chloe's POV

**A/N: OMG, I am so sorry. I haven't updated since October... Let me just say that life has gotten in the way. I won't waste your time with my lame excuses. I hope to be able to update this, and my other stories, way more frequently, like, at least once a month. I'd say once a week, but that might be pushing it. Here's a longer chapter, so hopefully that will sort of make up for the lack of updates. **

_What happened last: Chloe arrived in DC, and made a comment about airplane security which upset Emily because her father was at the Pentagon on 9/11. Chloe doesn't really understand her mistake, but she explains that to Emily, and is forgiven._

I woke up early the next morning and no one else was up. It was about seven. I opened one of the windows and let the warm breeze blow in. The air conditioning was almost cold. It was strange not to hear the sounds of a farm in the morning. Instead, I could hear the distant sounds of a city waking up. There were cars and trucks flying by on a highway, there were honking horns in traffic jams. This was different from everything I had ever experienced.

I headed to the bathroom and organized my toiletries in the drawer and on the counter. Then I took a shower and got dressed in jeans and a light purple shirt.

By the time Emily and Dr. Lightman got up, I have been awake for several hours. Lightman made breakfast while I sat in the kitchen with one of my books and Emily was on the phone with her mother. By the sound of it, they didn't get along well, and Emily's mother wanted her to do something that she didn't want to do. Dr. Lightman announced that his blueberry pancakes were ready, and Emily came back into the room and tossed the phone onto the counter where it landed with a thud.

"Mom wants me to go to a dinner party with her this afternoon and evening. She said she'll be here to pick me up at four." Dr. Lightman didn't look happy.

"I told her we have company," he said.

"It's Mom. She doesn't listen."

"Dr. Foster has a video for me to watch. Maybe I could call her and we could do that tonight," I said. Emily looked relieved.

"Okay! We can take you to her place on the way to the dinner," Emily said. "I'll text Mom and let her know."

"I'll call Foster for you Chloe. She wants to talk at me about payroll again anyway."

"Okay," I said. "Thanks."

"Come on! Let's get ready to go drive around," Emily said as soon as we were done eating. She put the dishes in the sink and rushed upstairs, with me following. Several minutes later I had put most of the usual things in my purse and had chosen a pair of flats. Emily met me in the hall, and we headed downstairs, calling out a goodbye to Dr. Lightman as we headed out the door.

Emily and I tossed our purses in the back seat and got into the car.

"Where to?" she asked.

"You're the expert," I replied, and we both laughed.

We drove around for a while, and stopped at a café that Emily likes for lunch. She was right, the food was really good. Then we decided we should head back so Emily could get ready for her dinner party thing with her mom. When we got back to the house, Emily called out to her dad that we were home, and he hollered back okay. We went upstairs, and Emily headed straight for her closet to pick out what she was going to wear. I was left standing awkwardly in the doorway, listening to her constant stream of talking. She tossed a pair of black heels, a black skirt and a red shirt onto her bed, and stepped back into my view.

"So, what are you going to wear to Gill's?" she asked.

"Uh… I don't know?" I said, although it came out like a question.

"I can help, if you'd like," she offered. "I have almost an hour to take a shower and do my hair and stuff."

"Okay," I said. There goes her begging for my approval streak again. It may not seem so, but I really was glad to have her help me. There was something about this new environment that made everything different. At home, everyone expected me to always be dressed up. In the city, I guess there is such a thing as being overdressed. I didn't want to make another rookie mistake. Besides, I was going to see Dr. Foster.

Emily followed me into my room, and opened the door to my closet.

"Do you own anything casual?" she asked.

"Sort of." She looked at me like I was crazy. "This is most of it, but there's more at home. I'm here for an internship, first and foremost," I explained. "I didn't really realize that I'd need lots of casual clothes."

"Oh. Well, we'll definitely have to go shopping. I can't let you go to any of the summer parties in a suit!" I laughed.

"Summer parties? How many are you talking about?"

"Well, there's a pool party next week, and a bunch of us are going to the movies, and Kelsey Martin always has a bonfire at her beach house..." Emily continued leafing through my closet, trying to find something that was suitable for me to wear. "That's not even including the stuff at the club. There's a formal at the end of June, a fourth of July dance… It goes on and on."

"Wow. That's a lot of parties."

"What kinds of parties are you used to going to?" Emily asked.

"Oh, well… our parties are usually at someone's house, like, a bunch of people get together and eat too much food, and that's it." I could tell this wasn't a satisfactory answer. "We have a whole week of parties like that at the beginning of summer. Someone's always hosting something." Still not satisfactory. "I went to a cave party in the mountains last summer… My friend Jamie drove a bunch of us up there when we were supposed to be sleeping over at her place."

"A cave party? What's that?" Damn, I was hoping this minor exaggeration would convince Emily that my social life wasn't as dull as it really was. Not that it had seemed dull to me, but compared with the list of parties that Emily had been invited to this summer, our little small town parties sounded exactly as they were. Lame.

"A bunch of seniors snuck up into the mountains and set up this huge party in a cave. They had music, and everyone brought food. It was lots of fun. Some juniors thought it would be cool to spike the drinks, so it was pretty funny to watch everyone dancing as they got drunker."

"Wow, that sounds really cool! Didn't you guys get caught doing it though?"

Uh oh. "_We_ didn't. We weren't drinking, and we left pretty early. Things went… unfortunately wrong… after we left."

"What happened?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," I said. If I told her the whole story, she'd see what kind of place I came from. Cave parties don't happen in DC, and if they did, the school's star football player wouldn't get killed running from the cops when they busted the party. If I told her the whole story, she'd see it all, because the truth was, that party sucked.

Tommy Heasley had a bit too much to drink, and when someone sounded the alarm that the cops were coming, he jumped into his dad's truck, and drove it straight off a cliff. He was dead before he hit the ground. We found out later that the brakes on the truck were shot before he ever got behind the wheel, and if he'd been sober, he would have noticed before it was too late. I couldn't tell Emily this, because it would show exactly what I was escaping from.

"Oh, okay," she said. "How about this shirt and your red heels? I love those, they're really cute!" Emily handed me a red shirt, one of my favorites actually, and pointed to the red shoes.

"Thanks," I said.

"I'd better go shower and change," Emily said, and she left my room. I closed my door behind her, and changed into the red shirt. Then I pulled up Facebook on my computer, and IMed Jamie.

Me: didn't know DC kids went to so many parties…

Jay: ?

Me: Emily was just telling me about all the parties she's been invited to this summer. & she asked what we do for parties…

Jay: uh oh. I sense a crisis?

Me: Yesh. Truth wasn't interesting enough, of course. I think she thought I was joking, actually.

Jay: are we that pathetic?

Me: I guess.

Me: To save face here, I told her about the cave party…

Me: not about Tommy Heasley obvs..

Jay: don't remind me. That could've been us.

Me: You were sober. & it wasn't.

Jay: we shouldn't have gone.

Me: We were young and stupid.

Jay: yeah. well, gtg, there's a barbeque at Stud's

Me: … have fun!

"Ready?" Emily called from down the hall some time later. "My mom's almost here."

"Almost," I called back, and I minimized my conversation, put my shoes on and grabbed my purse. I headed downstairs to find Emily waiting. A car pulled into the driveway. It certainly looked nice, and expensive.

"That's my mom," Emily said. We got all the way outside, and Emily introduced me to Zoe, before she realized she had left her cell phone in her room. She rushed back inside to get it, leaving me with Zoe. Thankfully, Emily returned moments later, holding her phone. She looked slightly guilty.

"Tsk, tsk. I don't want to be late for this dinner," Zoe said. "Emily knows better."

"Sorry Mom," Emily said when she got into the back seat. Zoe rolled her eyes.

"She means it," I said, for some reason feeling that I needed to defend Emily.

"You're better at hiding it than Cal," Zoe said. "I almost thought you were normal."

"Mom," Emily said. Zoe stopped her thread of conversation, and didn't nag Emily anymore about taking too long. Zoe stopped the car in front of a condo.

"I'll walk you to the door," Emily said. We both got out of the car.

"You don't have to. I don't want to make your mom late."

"No, I want to say hi to Gill," Emily said after we had closed the car doors. We walked up to the door, and Emily knocked.

"Thanks for defending me like that."

"No problem. It's just what I saw. You looked guilty when you said you were sorry."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot you see everything." It was probably good that I couldn't see her face right then, otherwise I would have gotten caught reading her.  
Dr. Foster opened the door.

"Hi Emily, Chloe."

"Hi Gill! You guys have fun. Chloe, give me a call when you're done, and I'll see if we can pick you up on the way home," Emily said.

"Don't worry about it, I can take her back to your place," Dr. Foster said.

"Okay! See you later Chloe!" Emily said, and she turned to get back in the car before her mother got even more irritated.

"Come on in, Chloe," Dr. Foster said, and I followed her into the house. She had the documentary all set up on the TV. I wasn't really sure if I should say something, so I didn't, and then she started the documentary.

By the time it was over, I got it. Maybe not as much as someone who lived through 9/11 and remembered, and certainly not as much as anyone who was affected, but I got it. After it was over and Foster shut the TV off, I found myself staring at the blank screen. My brain felt all fuzzy. It was just too much to really take in and understand. There were definitely things here that I wasn't going to understand right away, because no one ever talks about it. I finally tore my eyes away from the black TV screen to look over at Dr. Foster. She was wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. I was too numb to cry.

After several more minutes, she turned to face me.

"I think I get it now," I said. My voice sounded pretty flat and unemotional.

"I don't know about you, but I need some chocolate," Dr. Foster said.

"Sure," I said, and I forced a smile across my face.

I followed her into the kitchen, where she pulled out a cookbook.

"Cookies, pudding, brownies, cheesecake…any preference?" she asked.

"Not really," I said.

"Chocolate cheesecake for dinner then?"

"Sounds good," I said. It was just a little bit awkward, to be standing here in my boss's kitchen, about to make chocolate cheesecake for dinner, after watching a horrifyingly real video about something that really honestly happened.

"Chloe? Earth to Chloe?"

"What? Oh, sorry Dr. Foster. I guess I spaced out for a minute."

"No problem. I was just asking what you wanted to drink with dinner. And you can call me Gillian," she said.

"Uhm, okay, Gillian. Do you have milk?"

"Sure do."

Why did I get the feeling that she wanted me to talk about the documentary?

"Nobody'd ever shown us a video before… back home. They told us about it, in school, but words weren't really enough to describe the emotions."

"I haven't see video of it either, not since I was watching it in between clients at the Pentagon that morning."

"How do you live with it? When it was this close to home?"

"People are really pretty amazing, what we can learn to live with anyway. At the time it seemed like we were all going to die. Nobody really knew anything. Since then, I guess we just have to hope for the best. Our whole world changed afterwards, but I'd personally rather deal with the changes than the alternative. You just have to wake up in the morning and live your life. You just have to move on."

"You don't do it because it's easy, you do it because you have to," I said. I got it. Living with this was just like living with my father. Or living with Tommy Heasley. You wake up in the morning and move on, because you have to. You can't change the world by hiding from it.

**Please review! I promise to update more frequently!**


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